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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27931369">Box 451</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/PunkHazard/pseuds/PunkHazard'>PunkHazard</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Among Us (Video Game), Wolf 359 (Radio)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, the crew plays among us, very nearly canon compliant</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 21:28:36</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,505</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27931369</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/PunkHazard/pseuds/PunkHazard</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Kepler opens the envelope, hooking his foot into a rail bolted to the floor to keep himself still while he extracts the card inside. The note is written in Marcus Cutter's long, neat hand. </p><p><em>Warren,</em> it says. <em>Bored already? If you've got some free time, why not get the crew together for a little team-building exercise? The box is keyed to your voiceprint. You know what to do!</em></p><p>Cutter signed it M.C., with a smiley face.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>48</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Box 451</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Taking this chance to plug a W359 and other LSSP podcasts Discord server <a href="https://discord.gg/xu56NS2q7P">here!</a> (':</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>In the lull between fixing up the Hephaestus and the next insane attempt to detect a possibly alien signal, there's an entire week of nothing but basic station maintenance. Sure, a hatch will break down, a minor system might go haywire, the showers will run freezing cold for a few seconds a day and it's a Russian Roulette of who gets to be subject to it, but all in all, it's been a frankly <em>boring</em> week. The Hephaestus crew have been doing their jobs somewhat adequately (already an accomplishment, in Kepler's not-so-humble opinion), Jacobi and Maxwell efficient as ever. </p><p>Kepler's got his reports submitted, his crew evaluations filed, the entire backlog of Hephaestus admin logs organized. Dr. Hilbert had been sufficiently hassled and Lieutenant Minkowski successfully occupied with the navigational charts. Whatever revenge Lovelace is planning, she's laying low for the moment and biding her time.</p><p>Having an assignment go smoothly isn't <em>usually</em> a problem for Kepler; it means a little bit of downtime for him to explore the town they've been stationed in, check out local restaurants, specialty shops or tourist traps. Maybe a chance to learn a language, recipe, or game. Of course, being seven lightyears from earth means all of those options are off the table.</p><p>He's been hovering over the others' shoulders for the last two days, all of his own most pressing tasks already done. Even Kepler knows when to cut the crew a break, so he slips into the Urania's storage node to do inventory a week ahead of schedule. </p><p>It doesn't take long for him to turn up a crate that isn't listed on the manifesto-- a square metal box about shoulder-high with 451 printed in big block letters on the side and a little envelope taped to the top with 'Warren' written on it. It's strapped against the bulkhead in the most remote corner of the hold, out of sight from the entryway. They haven't exactly done inventory before now, but if Jacobi and Maxwell had noticed it, they didn't say so.</p><p>Kepler opens the envelope, hooking his foot into a rail bolted to the floor to keep himself still while he extracts the card inside. The note is written in Marcus Cutter's long, neat hand. </p><p><em>Warren,</em> it says. <em>Bored already? If you've got some free time, why not get the crew together for a little team-building exercise? The box is keyed to your voiceprint. You know what to do!</em></p><p>Cutter signed it M.C., with a smiley face.</p><p>"Access contents," he says, tucking the card into the inner pocket of his jacket, "of box 451."</p><p>Ten holes open on the surface, and Kepler sticks his hand into the closest one. He waits for the pinch of a hook into the back of his hand, and doesn't flinch when he's instantly taken to a dingy loading bay, ten seats set along the wall, each with a restraining harness. Someone is already waiting for him, leaning against a crate. She's young, dark-haired and dark-eyed; the bored look on her face changes to something resembling interest when she sees that he's the only one to arrive.</p><p>"Eris," says Kepler. "Good to see you again."</p><p>"Colonel Kepler," she answers, approaching him. "It's just you? Not much of a team-building exercise, is it?"</p><p>"Just wanted to ask you how all this works before I put the rest of the crew through it."</p><p>She tuts, looking disappointed. "That's not like you. The last time we had some fun, you just jumped right in with your whole team."</p><p>"Well," he drawls, smiling a bit, "I never make the same mistake twice. What kind of horrific nightmare am I in for this time? If you need more people before we can proceed, I'm afraid you'll have to wait for Jacobi and Maxwell to find my body standing still in the hold."</p><p>That makes her laugh. "Oh, relax. Mr. Cutter didn't even leave a mental imprint in this box."</p><p>"No?"</p><p>"It's a game! You, specifically, can begin and end the simulation at any time. When you tell me to end the simulation, I end the dream state program."</p><p>"You don't have to self-destruct?"</p><p>"It's not that kind of game."</p><p>"Well, I'm happy to hear that." Kepler takes a moment to consider that Eris could easily just be here to collect information on the crew and send it back to Canaveral; after all, he can't include <em>everything</em> in a written report, and Cutter would be able to tell a lot about the physical, mental and emotional states of both the Hephaestus crew and the SI-5 from the data. Last Kepler had heard, the new Dream State Boxes don't have to destroy Eris to synthesize and relay her memories. "What kind of game?" he asks after a moment, following her as she motions for him to approach the laptop sitting atop one of the crates.</p><p>"You ever played Mafia?"</p>
<hr/><p>Kepler waits for the end of a short rotation, the crew drifting into the mess one by one until everyone but Hilbert is gathered. The latter is paged over the station's coms, and Kepler chats idly with Maxwell until all seven humans are finally present.</p><p>"So," he says, "you're probably wondering what all this is about." Lovelace, Minkowski and Eiffel are all restless, but refuse to give him the satisfaction of their curiosity. Hilbert doesn't seem to care. Jacobi and Maxwell are looking at him with their signature feigned-indifference-which-is-actually-rapt-attention, until he gestures to Box 451, which he'd moved into the canteen while everyone else was still at work.</p><p>"Is that," starts Lovelace, but she falls silent, eyes narrowed at the box. Hilbert regards it with the same suspicion; Minkowski and Eiffel with confusion. </p><p>"I think you've had experience with something similar," Kepler says, addressing Lovelace, "and so have we. This one is supposed to be some kind of team-building game."</p><p>"I," Lovelace snarls, "am <em>not</em> gonna-- whatever you're planning to do with that!"</p><p>"Captain?" Minkowski puts a hand on her arm, gently pulling her back. "What is it?"</p><p>"Oh, just the standard Goddard <em>lies</em> and <em>manipulation</em>." Lovelace exhales through her nose, a loud breath. "It puts you in some sort of dream state and traumatizes you for a few hours."</p><p>"I think I've done the Dying Star simulation," Maxwell chimes in, "and the Station Outbreak one."</p><p>"I was with you for Station Outbreak," says Jacobi, elbowing her lightly in the ribs. "Me and the colonel did Apocalyptic Wasteland back in 2012."</p><p>"Captain Lovelace isn't technically wrong," Kepler answers, silencing his team with a stern look. "It's usually used to put operatives in a simulated reality in emergency situations to both test how people will react, and also to train them for similar circumstances. Eris said that this was just a game of some kind, but it needs a minimum of four players to start. I figured since we don't have anything on the docket for the next couple hours, we could give it a try."</p><p>Minkowski scowls at him. "And," she protests, "what makes you think we want to play any kind of game with you?"</p><p>For the first time since everyone gathered, Hilbert speaks up. He regards the box with a wary eye, noting the number change but not commenting on it. "Is this priority one assignment?" he asks.</p><p>"No." Unfortunately. "<em>But</em>, you all seem a little bored after an uneventful half-shift, so what do you say? Jacobi, Maxwell?"</p><p>"I'm in," Maxwell says cheerfully. "It would be nice to catch up with Eris."</p><p>Phrasing it as a question, but giving him a long, imploring look, Kepler turns to Jacobi. "Jacobi?"</p><p>"Yessir."</p><p>Kepler moves on seamlessly, eyes passing over the entire crew of the Hephaestus before landing on Eiffel. Noticing the attention, Lovelace's and Minkowski's hackles rise, but neither interrupt him. "How about it, Officer Eiffel?" Eiffel, who doesn't necessarily <em>trust</em> Kepler but also isn't quite as suspicious as his other, more experienced colleagues, seems to perk up at the question. "Sounds like fun, doesn't it?" </p><p>"You know what?" he answers, oblivious to the frantic glares immediately directed at him, "Yeah, let's do it."</p><p>Lovelace drags her palm down her face. Minkowski growls, very softly, under her breath. Minkowski isn't about to leave Eiffel alone with the SI-5, Lovelace won't let them both be outnumbered, and neither of them are about to let Hilbert have free reign of the ship while everyone else is hooked up to the dream state program. Lovelace fixes an annoyed look on Kepler, but she shrugs. "Fine. I guess we're all doing this."</p><p>Hilbert opens his mouth but after a second of consideration, closes it again, not willing to test his luck.</p><p>Satisfied that all the humans are on board, Kepler turns his head to regard one of Hera's sensors. "And Hera," he says, "feel like joining in?"</p><p>Hera takes nearly three seconds to register that she's being spoken too, as if resigned to being left out of yet another all-humans activity. She comes back with a tentative, "Is that... possible?"</p><p>"Dr. Maxwell?"</p><p>"I should be able to partition your consciousness so you can participate and keep an eye on the rest of the station at the same time." Maxwell leans forward, sliding back a panel on the box to regard a series of ports set into its chassis. "It'll take half an hour, tops."</p><p>"Alright. Everyone get some food, a nap, bathroom break, whatever you need, then reassemble here in forty-five minutes." Kepler grins. "Dismissed."</p>
<hr/><p>Eris gives the crew a perfunctory welcome, which is when Kepler finally notices that they're all dressed in the same simple, visored space suits. He hadn't been equipped with that his first go-round. They've all been assigned random colors, from the looks of it, each with nothing but a nametag on their chest to indicate their identities.</p><p>"Whoa," Minkowski says, staring down at her hands, "this <em>is</em> pretty realistic." She adjusts the shoulder straps of her oxygen tank, hefting it into a more comfortable position against her back. "And there's gravity on this station!" </p><p>"Eris!" Maxwell says, as always greeting the AI first. "You got the new uniform patch? I was afraid you wouldn't, since we sent it out pretty much the day we launched the Urania." </p><p>"Just barely. I think I finished the update as we were passing Mars."</p><p>Maxwell beams at her, but doesn't try to interrupt when the AI regards the rest of the crew. "So," Eris says, "you can all adjust your appearances from your heads-up displays, and equip accessories from a  standardized selection. Each color has to be unique, but otherwise go wild."</p><p>In the time between greeting them and giving them the most basic primer, Kepler had already claimed Black. Now, he cycles through various accessories for his helmet (a fried egg, wolf ears, and a balloon) before finally settling on a two-leafed plant growing out of the top of his head. </p><p>"Colonel Pikmin," says Lovelace, snapping off an exaggerated salute at him while Kepler laughs. She'd chosen Purple, with a pair of oversized goggles. </p><p>Jacobi ends up in Blue, with a block of cheese attached to the top of his head. Maxwell: Green, with bear ears, though she'd spent a few moments wavering between the ears and the sticky note with DUM written on it. </p><p>Eiffel chooses Brown, with a cherry on top. "Cherry cola," he says, sounding wistful. He's sticking close to Hera, in Yellow with a party hat, the two of them nudging and jostling each other as if Hera had always had a physical body with which she can interact with him. Projected onto her visor is the virtual face of a young woman, wide-eyed and sharp. Hilbert, already bored, goes with White, with an eyepatch. Minkowski settles last, cautiously claiming Orange with a fried egg. </p><p>"Now what?" asks Minkowski, and follows the line of Eris's gaze to look at Kepler.</p><p>"Begin round?" he says, and all the lights go out.</p>
<hr/><p>"Welcome to the introduction round," says Eris. "There are two impostors among you."</p><p>Lovelace and Minkowski exchange a look, and shake their heads. They take stock of the room, idly noting in their peripheries that the SI-5 are also casing the expansive cafeteria they've been dropped in. Five circular blue tables with benches are set throughout the space, a bright red EMERGENCY MEETING button on the one in the center. Eiffel shifts nervously between his feet, but Hera bumps him on the shoulder, and they grin at each other.</p><p>Maxwell has a panel on her arm open, pressing the buttons on it as her eyes dart from one corner to the other of her visor. She's clearly already figured it out, and once Kepler and Jacobi finish their scan of the room, they also start poking at the console.</p><p>"The goal of the impostors," Eris explains, "is to kill the crew of the ship. There are two win conditions for impostors: they can either pull off a successful sabotage, or bring the number of crewmates down to the same number of impostors by murdering them and voting them off."</p><p>Minkowski raises her hand and waits for Eris to acknowledge her. "How do crewmates win?"</p><p>"Crewmates can win by either finishing all the tasks listed on their HUDs, or by voting out all the impostors. You vote someone off either by finding and reporting a dead body, or by calling an emergency meeting. Each of you can call one emergency meeting."</p><p>"Anyone ever played Mafia or Werewolf?" asks Kepler, and he grins at the look of understanding that dawns on their faces. "Same concept, with a few bells and whistles to make it more fun."</p><p>"You <em>can</em> complete tasks while dead," says Eris. "And I think the rest you can figure out for yourself. Coms are muted while you do tasks, and unmuted when a body is discovered or a meeting is called. Good luck!" </p><p>She disappears, leaving the crew standing in an awkward circle around the central blue table as their HUDs flash with their roles. Jacobi tries to say something, but he can only turn to Maxwell and gesticulate wildly when no sound goes through. Kepler taps Maxwell on the shoulder and attempts ASL, but the clunkiness of the suit makes him all but unintelligible even with that mode of communication. Then he shrugs, and approaches Hilbert.</p><p>The scientist backs away a bit, but not far enough to get out of range of Kepler as his visor snaps open and a long, pointed appendage shoots out of it to impale Hilbert through the eye, the glass of his visor audibly shattering. Kepler's appendage retracts, and his visor snaps shut again.</p><p>Eiffel starts screaming without sound, one hand on his head and the other pointing at Hilbert's body, just the bottom half of his bisected corpse. </p><p>Kepler glances at his arm panel, and hits the button to report a dead body. </p><p>When they're gathered back around the table, everyone stares dumbfounded at Kepler. "I think I felt my jaw unhinge," he says, touching the visor as he opens and closes his mouth a few times behind the glass. Jacobi and Maxwell are collapsed against each other, laughing.</p><p>"You just--" Eiffel sputters, staring wide-eyed at Kepler, "YOU KILLED HIM!"</p><p>"Yeah," Kepler scoffs, "I'm an <em>impostor</em>. It's a practice round. I'm practicing."</p><p>"I'm voting Eiffel," Jacobi says, hitting a button on his arm panel. A green check mark displays to the rest of the crew on his HUD. "Screams too loud."</p><p>"Me too," says Maxwell.  </p><p>"Wait," Minkowski says, "wait, wait, wait, you can't just vote for Eiffel! We <em>know</em> Kepler's an impostor!"</p><p>"I'm voting for Eiffel as well," Kepler says.</p><p>"Well," Lovelace counters, "I'm voting for the <em>known impostor</em>."</p><p>Minkowski, Eiffel and Hera all make varying sounds of agreement as they put in their votes for Kepler. </p><p>"Now what?" asks Eiffel, as the votes tally up.</p>
<hr/><p><em>The airlock</em>, Maxwell mouths, before dissolving into another round of giggles, leaning hard on Jacobi's arm. She peers out of the porthole, Kepler's body disappearing slowly into the distance, the little plant on his head swaying, and gives him a cheeky salute. She gestures roughly to Jacobi that they should stay together, and both of them head toward the bottom of the ship, where one of them presumably has a task.</p><p>Lovelace, Minkowski, Hera and Eiffel head to Electrical in a loose gaggle, eventually splitting up as their tasks take them in separate directions.</p>
<hr/><p>
'Who is other impostor?' Hilbert asks, hovering near Kepler's elbow as he drifts behind the living members of the SI-5. 'Do you know?'
</p><p>
'It's Maxwell,' Kepler answers cheerfully, trailing the younger woman as she and Jacobi head off toward Admin, nominally to swipe a card. 'Impostors don't do tasks, but they do give us a list of 'em that we can fake. I have full confidence in Dr. Maxwell's abilities.' Then he pulls up the map on his HUD and pokes at his arm panel, causing the cafeteria doors to spontaneously close. When they open again, he makes a thoughtful sound under his breath and casually starts a reactor meltdown.
</p><p>Neither Maxwell nor Jacobi move for the reactors, but Jacobi does follow Maxwell to a vent in Admin to watch her pop in and out of it. He gives the vent an experimental poke, to see whether or not it'll open for him, and nods in understanding when Maxwell mimes a spike shooting out of her visor and poking him in the eye. He laughs, motioning for her to follow him to Communications as the reactor alarms continue to blare. </p><p>Eiffel is-- lost, probably, staring in frustration at a bundle of wires inside a panel. It's not the most complicated task, but the gloves of the suit are bulky and he has to work slowly. Maxwell sidles up close to him while he's absorbed in the task, hits the Kill button, and stabs him five times in the back. </p><p>The lower half of his body hits the floor, thankfully without much blood spatter, and the two of them slip away from the scene toward the reactors. </p>
<hr/><p>
'So?' says Kepler, patting Eiffel on the shoulder as they hover over his body. 'Didn't expect that, did you?'
</p><p>
'Commander Minkowski will figure it out,' Eiffel insists, looking morose but much less horrified than he had been. After all, the murder didn't hurt; it had only startled him a little when his consciousness was forcibly ejected from his body and he watched himself get stabbed.
</p><p>
 'You've got tasks to do, Officer Eiffel,' says Kepler, glancing down at his arm panel and poking a few buttons to randomly close the door to Security, where Lovelace has hunkered down to watch the cameras. She jumps at the sound, turning briefly away from the cameras. Maxwell has already noticed the blinking red lights, sticking to corners away from them and leaving Jacobi in order to vent into the Lower Engine.
</p>
<hr/><p>Jacobi aproaches Hera in Electrical, the two of them gesturing vaguely at each other while she gives him a wide berth. But after watching him fiddle with a download from a screen embedded in the wall, she seems to relax. He finishes up quickly enough, and sticks to Hera as she heads up through Storage and toward the Med Bay. She seems distracted, looking frequently over her shoulder as if checking for Eiffel, and frowning when she doesn't see any sign of him. </p><p>In the meantime, Maxwell has found Minkowski alone in the Reactors, stuck punching buttons at a panel that's flashing irregularly at her. Maxwell presses the kill button on her arm panel, eyes widening in surprise as a gun appears in her hand. She aims it automatically at Minkowski's back, shoots once between her shoulders and once in the back of her head, a clean double-tap, and then immediately dives into the nearest vent.</p><p>She's watching from behind the grille as Lovelace enters the Reactor seconds later, crossing the hall from Security, and pauses at the body on the floor. Lovelace grimaces at the cartoonishly gory remains of Minkowski's body, and reports it immediately.</p>
<hr/><p>They're transported back to the cafeteria, ghosts and all. Hilbert and Eiffel had been diligently doing their tasks, while Kepler had largely followed Maxwell around and closed doors behind her. The list of crewmembers on everyone's HUD reports two more dead, both Lovelace's allies, and she glares at Jacobi and Maxwell. "I know it's one of you," she says. "Hera would never murder Minkowski and Eiffel."</p><p>"Whoa," Maxwell says, "I was with Jacobi for a pretty long time, and I didn't see him murder anyone."</p><p>"I was with Hera for the last five minutes," Jacobi protests. "And I didn't kill her, even with <em>ample</em> opportunities. Weren't my opportunities to murder you ample, Hera?"</p><p>"Unfortunately," Hera says, "Mr. Jacobi was with me for the last five minutes, and he didn't take advantage of ample opportunities to kill me."</p><p>"You were the only one we didn't see at all," Maxwell says, regarding Lovelace almost apologetically. "Where did you say the body was again?"</p><p>"Minkowski was in Reactors. I went in there from Security, where I was the <em>whole time</em>."</p><p>"Did you see anyone nearby?"</p><p>"N... o."</p><p>"I'm voting Lovelace," says Jacobi, the green check flashing on his visor.</p><p>Maxwell says nothing, but a checkmark appears on her visor as well. </p><p>"Oh-- that's not fair," Lovelace says, "you two are <em>always</em> gonna be on the same side."</p><p>"I want to win this game too," Jacobi complains. "I'd throw Maxwell under the bus in a heartbeat."</p><p>"Likewise," says Maxwell.</p><p>"I trust Captain Lovelace," Hera says. "I'm voting Jacobi, just for being a <em>jerk</em>."</p><p>"I'm voting Jacobi too, so we don't vent an <em>innocent person</em>." The check appears on Lovelace's visor. "We're gonna stick together from now on, okay? So the impostor can't kill one of us without the others seeing. I've got a task in Shields, so let's head there first."</p><p>"I'm almost done with mine," says Maxwell, giving Jacobi a meaningful look.</p><p>"Most of mine are in Storage, so we'll go there after?"</p><p>Hera nods, a check finally appearing on her visor as well to signify her vote for Jacobi. "Sounds good."</p>
<hr/><p>With a tie, no one is vented out the airlock, and everyone heads to Shields. On the way there, an alert trips to warn them of a failing oxygen system. Lovelace veers off for one, and the remaining three head for the other. </p><p>Even before Lovelace finishes punching in the code to reset the oxygen system, Maxwell reports Hera's dead body. At the meeting table, she points at Jacobi. "I saw Daniel stab Hera," she says. "We were close to finishing our tasks, and he couldn't catch us alone, so he just-- took his chance."</p><p>"Wh-- I <em>did not</em>! You already left the room, so how could you know!"</p><p>"I ducked back in and he was just standing over her body! It seemed suspicious that you stayed in there to do Oxygen when you <em>knew</em> Hera could manage it."</p><p>Lovelace looks between them, both Jacobi and Maxwell seething as they glare at each other. "So you three were in admin?" she asks. </p><p>"Look," Jacobi says, "she's clearly trying to <em>frame me</em>, since she's the <em>impostor</em>."</p><p>"Sounds like <em>you</em> just couldn't kill properly, and you're <em>projecting</em> your lack of skill onto me!"</p><p>"So it's definitely <em>one of you</em>," says Lovelace, brows furrowed. "We can't wait for more proof?"</p><p>"Maybe we should wait for more proof," Jacobi says.</p><p>"We absolutely can't." Maxwell holds up three fingers. "If we pass this round without voting the impostor off, he can just kill one of us and then the number of impostors and crewmates would be the same. That's an impostor win condition. We <em>have</em> to vote. The fact that Daniel was on board with skipping this round makes him look <em>very</em> suspicious."</p><p>The green check appears on Maxwell's visor, her expression sad as she regards her colleague through the glass. </p><p>Lovelace sighs, but she casts her vote, and the next thing either of them know, Jacobi is spinning his way out of the airlock.</p>
<hr/><p>DEFEAT flashes across the inside of Lovelace's visor as she's transported back to the cargo hold where they had all first arrived inside the game, this time sitting on one of the ten chairs lined up against the bulkhead. She undoes the harness restraining her, and joins the seven other players around the laptop. </p><p>"So," says Maxwell, grinning, "I <em>was</em> the impostor." 

</p><p>Eris isn't physically present this time, but her voice cuts smoothly over the hum of the ship around them. "So?" she says. "Had fun? Ready to go again?"</p><p>In Lovelace's periphery, she sees Kepler and Maxwell high-five each other. Jacobi's standing beside them, rolling his eyes but smiling. "You left us all alone out there," Maxwell accuses Kepler. </p><p>"I had complete confidence in your abilities," Kepler shoots back, using her shoulder as an arm-rest.</p><p>"Captain!" Minkowski says, stomping up to her. "Are you okay? I'm sorry, I didn't expect them to--"</p><p>"Minkowski," Lovelace says, interrupting her, "it's fine. Practice round. I was afraid some of you might be-- I dunno, permanently scarred from dying, but that doesn't seem to be the case, so." She cracks her knuckles.</p><p>"You can't really be thinking of going again," Minkowski gasps.</p><p>"Hera," Lovelace says, turning to look at her, "how much time passed outside the box?"</p><p>"About six minutes," Hera answers. "I think we're moving at about a third of real-time, since it's all happening inside your heads." She's standing with her arm looped through Eiffel's, neither of them discussing the game that had just happened, but with their heads close together, discussing strategy for the next.</p><p>"I really," says Lovelace, "want a chance to shank Hilbert and the Three Stooges. Besides, I think this might <em>actually</em> just be a harmless recreational game."</p><p>"This is waste of time," Hilbert grumbles. "You can <em>never</em> assume something from Cutter is harmless."</p><p>"He's not wrong," Kepler says, joining Lovelace and Minkowski after a quiet debriefing with his team. "I can't tell you what Mr. Cutter is actually planning with Box 451, but as far as I can tell, it's not going to irreversibly damage us or set the mission back. It's supposed to be a 'team-building' exercise. There's <em>definitely</em> some ulterior motive, but I don't think it's one that'll be to our detriment, since I'm here."</p><p>"Not sure what kind of team he's trying to build," Minkowski grumbles, and she turns a glare on Jacobi. "And you! You just let us lose?!"</p><p>Shrugging, Jacobi folds his arms across his chest. "I don't <em>actually</em> care about winning this dumb game," he says. But he looks out of the corner of his eye at Maxwell, then at Kepler, both of whom clearly care <em>very much</em> about winning.</p><p>"Okay," says Lovelace. "Mr. Agent of Chaos can't be counted on to do anything but back up the other two."</p><p>"Everyone ready?" Kepler asks the room, and he doesn't wait for an answer before he addresses Eris. "Let's play again."</p>
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